Published: March 29, 2008 07:47 pm            

FAIRVIEW: Moving into the future

There’s one in every family: The austere, elderly relative who delights in reminding anyone present how things used to be, how all that land used to be cotton fields as far as the eye could see.

Twenty years from now, that could be just about everyone in Fairview — minus the cotton fields, that is.

“We sort of envisioned this plan long ago and started to acquire property,” said Fairview mayor Randall Shedd in February at a table in the lobby of the town hall where he serves as mayor. The plan about which he spoke is Fairview’s 20-year proposal to turn the tree-dotted land bordering Welcome Road and Wesley Road North into Fairview Community Park. The project, which will cover 85 acres of land, could include five athletic fields, two retail buildings, a senior living complex and a new town hall complex. Connecting each link in the chain would be a couple miles of paved walkways to go with the site’s 1.2 existing miles of sidewalk.

As Shedd mentioned, Fairview officials have been working on the project for years, adding pieces of land here and there to get enough property to create a significant town centerpiece.

“We purchased four different parcels of land for this, so now we have about 85 acres of land all in one spot here in the center of town,” said Shedd, who has been mayor of Fairview since 1996.

Already, Fairview residents have been using the new space for community functions. Shedd said town partners with community churches Jul. 4 for a patriotic program, complete with fireworks on the Wednesday or Sunday night before Independence Day.

“It’s a very big event,” Shedd said, adding the town uses its portico as a stage for its Labor Day and Christmas celebrations.

“It’s a replica of the high school that burned, and actually has the columns off the school that burned and the letters off the school,” Shedd explained about the town’s portico. “It brings the community together. The park is fast becoming the activity center of our community.”

Shedd believes the addition of more walking trails will help bring the entire project together — something the existing trails have already done.

“The walking trails are a good addition,” he said. “We did those three or four years ago. They’ve really been used and people really enjoy them.”

Sometime soon, one of those trails could lead to a new space for Fairview children to enjoy year round.

“What we’re trying to do this particular year is we’re concentrating on getting a playground installed,” said Shedd. “Jack’s Family Restaurant has made a good donation to us to help get that going. That will be at the end of the short trail on the edge the woods.”

The process of getting the new trails ready will have many steps, with one of the first being the installation of lighting. Shedd said Fairview will try to get that done this year.

“Hopefully we’re going to do the first phase of the lighting on the walking trail this year,” Shedd explained. “And we’re going to try to do a lot of cleaning of the underbrush and then working on grant applications for new walking trails and ball fields.”

Those new ball fields could include four baseball/softball fields and a little league football field. The proposed sports complex would include 300 parking spaces and a driveway connecting to Welcome Road.

Shedd added that despite the donation from Jack’s, the restaurant chain is not necessarily going to build restaurant in Fairview — though they would be welcomed.

“They were just kind to us to give us a good donation,” Shedd explained. “Hopefully someday, we’d love to have a Jack’s restaurant, but there’s nothing in the works particularly for that.”

The decision to expand the park’s walking trails was an easy one, according to the mayor. Such picturesque land naturally lends itself to recreation and relaxation.

“The land is just beautiful,” said Shedd. “With the wooded area and then the open area, we just feel like its going to be a very popular place for all the activities and facilities that we have planned. Everything will work good together.”

Another proposed segment of Fairview’s 20-year plan involves both commercial development and space for senior living.

“We set aside this plot along the highway with a lot of road frontage for retail development,” Shedd said. “And we hope at some point to do residential housing for senior living. Now this is not assisted living or anything like that. It’s just where people can live retired and don’t want the upkeep of a home can live there and enjoy the rest of the park that goes with it.”

Although Fairview is deeply involved in the 20-year park project, Shedd said the town has plenty more up its sleeve for 2008 — including the reconfiguration of the intersection of Highway 69 and Wesley Avenue.

“We’ve been working for a long, long time on the intersection here at Fairview of 69 and Wesley Avenue,” Shedd said. “The intersection has a lot of wrecks, it’s a visibility problem. It’s very inconvenient for people going north or south, so we’ve been working on trying to get it addressed for a long, long time.”

Town officials say the intersection will be reconfigured, with turn lanes added in both directions. The highway itself will be moved four feet north to give more visibility for cars coming from south onto Highway 69.

“So that’s a major project that we’re so thankful for,” said Shedd, noting that funding from the Alabama Department of Transportation is in place. “Hopefully it will put us in position then to qualify for a traffic light there.”

With funding in place, Shedd said construction will start soon, for a finishing date later this year.

        

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